In Flames
by Thiswouldbeakick
Summary: 'The dragon's lifeless body crushed the burning remains of Lake Town as it fell from the sky. Somewhere, in the ruins of the town, was the man that had succeeded in killing that dragon. Bard'. One-shot. Please R&R.


**So, let me start with stating that this story was written before the third Hobbit-movie was released and therefore it is quiet different from what is shown there..  
** **Still, I have a soft spot for this story and that's why I am posting it anyway.**

 **Enjoy reading and please leave a review. It is highly appreciated ;-)**

* * *

The Black Arrow hit its mark and buried itself deep in Smaug's breast. He gave one last giant roar and breathed out one last stream of fire, before its wings started to falter.

The dragon's lifeless body crushed the burning remains of Lake Town as it fell from the sky. Somewhere, in the ruins of the town, was the man that had succeeded in killing that dragon. Bard.

* * *

The surviving inhabitants watched the scene from the shores of the lake. They had seen the dragon fall from the sky and knew someone or something had killed it.  
Among the survivors were three children. They were in more distress than any of the others, for they knew who had slain that dragon. And they knew who had still been in the town when the dragon's body came crashing down on it. Their father.  
The two girls, Sigrid and Tilda, were sitting on the ground and crying audibly, while the boy, Bain, stood staring out over the water. He knew there was a very real chance that his father had not survived.

Bain felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see to whom it belonged. He found the Master of Lake Town stand behind him. A look of forced sympathy was on the fat man's face. Behind the Master stood Alfrid, with an equally disingenuous look of sympathy.  
"I am sorry about your father" the Master said. Bain thought he was imagining it, but it sounded like a soft chuckle escaped the Master at the end of that sentence. Bain felt rage boiling up. How could this man be so cruel?!  
"Thank you" he muttered back, holding down his anger and deciding it was not wise to pick a fight with the Master of Lake Town. Instead he sat down on the ground and tried to comfort his sisters as much as possible in their grief.

* * *

Bard opened his eyes. All around him was fire and smoke filled his lungs. Only a few feet away from him lay Smaug's giant body. He would surely not have survived had it landed on him…

Bard was hurting and quickly assessed his injuries. He had sustained quite a large burn to his left hand and forearm where the dragon fire had hit him. Also there was a laceration on his calve. It was not extremely deep, but it did hurt. Apart from some smaller scrapes and bruises, those were the only injuries he had sustained. Bard was glad for that, for he knew it could have been a lot worse.

Still, he was not out of danger yet. The wooden buildings and foundations of Lake Town were ablaze and the fire was spreading rapidly. Bard realized that the place he was lying on now, would soon be smouldering too. He quickly scrambled to his feet and looked around for possible ways of escape.  
He found that he stood on the small square that once formed the entrance to the Master's mansion. Now, however, the boardwalks and bridges were being eaten away by the flames. Even the large bridge that formed the entrance to Lake Town had become inaccessible.  
Bard slowly started to realize there was no other way. The water was his only chance of escaping the ruins of this town alive.  
He hesitated for a few seconds, the flames still closing in on him. It was his last resort. He _had_ to get into the water.

With an almighty jump, Bard launched himself off the boardwalk and dived into the canal. Immediately his entire body felt numb from the icy cold water. The first blocks of ice were already floating in the lake and it would not be long before it was completely frozen over.

Bard did not know where any of the survivors had gone, or if there even _were_ any survivors. He swam away along the remains of Lake Town's entrance bridge. Any survivors had most likely escaped via this way.  
He kicked at the water as hard as he could. His long coat had become extremely heavy in the water and tried to pull him under. It was so cold that his muscles felt powerless and his mind was the only thing that kept him going by now. He needed to know whether his children were still alive and he had not just slain a dragon to simply drown in the lake. Those thoughts made him kick even harder at the water. The shore was not that far, he _had_ to make it…

* * *

Some of the survivors had started fires in the sand. It was a cold night and they had to keep warm. Many people were still staring sadly at the burning remains of their hometown. What were they going to do now? They had lost everything.  
Suddenly an elderly woman, who used to repair the fishermen's nets, cried out and pointed to something on the dark lake.  
"There!" she yelled, "there's someone in the water! Another survivor!" Several others gathered around her to look at what she meant.

Bain heard the murmur, but could not make out what was being said. He looked up from comforting his sisters to find out the cause of this sudden excitement. He could see people pointing at the water and they appeared to be yelling encouragements to someone.  
Bain slowly rose to his feet. As in a daze he walked over to the still growing crowd at the edge of the water. Could it be…? Was it possible that his father had escaped Smaug's desolation?

He wrestled himself through the crowd and when Bain finally broke through the last line of people that separated him from the water, he knew his most desperate wish was indeed true…

* * *

He was so cold now, utterly frozen, and several times Bard nearly stopped swimming. He nearly gave up on it all, but the thought of his children kept him going. The possibility that they had survived and that he would give up on them, was just unbearable to him.  
Suddenly Bard's eye was caught by several lights on the east shore of the lake. It looked like firelights and he felt his strengths renew. He had found the survivors!

Bard swam as fast as his hurting body allowed him to. As he came closer to the shore, he could hear people calling out to him. They had spotted him and were encouraging him to hold on and swim toward them.

Finally Bard felt bottom under his feet again and knew he had made it. He stumbled out of the water toward the people of Lake Town. Several times his legs threatened to give out on him and he was close to falling over.  
"Father!" Bard heard the voice before he actually saw his son.  
"Bain…" he whispered nearly inaudibly and allowed himself to fall to his knees in the sand.

Bain broke through the crowd of people and flung his arms around his father. He could not mind that Bard's clothes were soaking wet and drenched him as well. All that mattered right now was that his father had survived and that he was holding him.  
"Are your sisters alright?" Bard asked through chattering teeth.  
"Yes, yes, they are" Bain answered without releasing his hug.  
"Take me to them" Bard said. Bain carefully aided his father to his feet and lead the way back to Tilda and Sigrid.

The two children were sitting on the ground, huddled together in grief. Bard cried out in relief and ran the last few metres over to them. He sank to the ground in front of Tilda and Sigrid and embraced them tightly. Bain followed close behind and joined in the embrace.

They sat together for a long while. Sigrid was the one to break the family embrace.  
"Father, you're shivering" she said shocked.  
"I-I'm f-fine" Bard answered, but his stammering betrayed him.  
"You'll freeze to death!" Sigrid said, while standing up and pulling her father to his feet as well. Bard allowed himself to be steered to one of the larger fires.  
"Tilda, please pick up some ice from the lake" Sigrid asked her sister. She had been examining the burn on Bard's forearm and hand, and realized it would need to be treated.

Now that Bard was close to the fire and could feel its warmth, he realized how extremely cold he was.  
A lot of the survivors of what once was Lake Town were watching him. They knew perfectly well who had slain the dragon and had saved most of their lives. They too knew that the Master had failed them miserably and that Bard had stepped up to protect them.

Bard suddenly felt extremely fatigued and laid down in the sand, close to the fire. Sigrid was watching him alertly, making sure her father really was fine.

Tilda returned to them, carrying blocks of ice she had managed to fish out of the lake.  
"Perfect" Sigrid said and took the blocks from her little sister. She next tore a piece of fabric off her dress and draped it over Bard's injured hand and forearm, followed by the blocks of ice which she placed on the fabric. Bard had been watching her silently.  
"Thank you" he said softly. The cold of the ice took the burning pain away and made it a bit more bearable.

More and more people had gathered around the fire, as they wanted to be as close to their hero as possible.  
Bard did not register much anymore at that stage. Exhaustion was starting to get the better of him. The murmur of the people, the warmth of the fire, the presence of his children; it all made him calm down enough to feel how utterly tired he was. Slowly he closed his eyes and passed out…

* * *

 _Fire. Everything was fire.  
Above him, beneath him, to his sides.  
It was burning, searing, killing him…_

Bard did not know how long he had slept, but when he opened his eyes the night was still dark. He was comfortably warm by now. His clothes were much drier by now and he was covered with a woollen blanket. Around him many other people were asleep in the sand too.  
He felt someone stroke his hair and slightly turned his head to look. He found Tilda was sitting next to him and she caught him looking at her.  
"Sleep, papa" she said softly and continued running her fingers through Bard's hair.

Bard closed his eyes again. Everything was going to be alright. The people of Lake Town were safe and, most importantly, his children were safe. There still was the enormous task of finding new homes for an entire town's population, but in the end they would manage. Bard was certain of that.  
And with these reassuring thoughts and the comforting feeling of his daughter's fingers still running through his hair, Bard slept again. It would not be easy, but everything would be alright.


End file.
